Dinosaur School

Last fall a friend told me about a study at the UW for children who are "hard to parent". I called about the study and we were qualified over the phone. Since then Mr. B has been attending Dinosaur School and we attend "The Incredible Years" parenting classes. I can't say enough about this program. We are working with incredible teachers and the program founder each week. Mr. B loves his class and is so excited to go each week to play with Dina.

With the help of the instructors we are making our way through The Incredible Years book that Carolyn wrote. She, having a son with ADHD, really understands what is going on with special kids as well as the struggles to parent them. The program she has come up with is award winning and has been taught world wide. I feel so lucky to receive this wonderful training from her and the wonderful staff at the UW, they are all excellent.

On a Clear Day You Can See Forever

Despite the title I promise not to break into song for this post.

Mr. B has been nagging me incessantly to take him to the Space Needle. The last time I tried (a few weeks ago) the parking lot payment machine was broken and I was fearful that our car would get towed so I bagged that trip with promises of a new trip in the near future.

Fast forward to this past Monday, MLK Day = no school. We woke up to another day of glorious sunshine and so I decided today was the day to make the trek into Seattle. We packed up our stuff and headed out the door. Just as we got into a neighboring town we hit a wall of fog. The fog continued for several miles and then started to break up, to my relief, but started again once we were crossing the bridge. This was super thick, I couldn't even see the shore or tunnel I knew was coming type of fog. I informed the kiddo's that if the fog was this thick in Seattle we would not be going to the top of the Space Needle and then I braced for their howling. Much to my surprise they didn't howl but did make the suggestion that we go to the Pacific Science Center instead. Perfect! What great kids I have :-)

As we got into Seattle there was still quite a bit of fog in the southern areas (by Quest Field) but as we go a little north it cleared up (hooray!) and the Space Needle looked glorious and as it turned out the view was flawless.













Yum, lunch!

Poor Nat . . .

My poor SIL must dread it when my family visits; especially those like this past Saturday when it is sunny out and I am full of energy. I have a hard time controlling myself when I have excess energy and I always always LOVE to help others decorate and clean/organize their own homes. In the past I've talked Nat into painting her family room (with many trips to the hardware store as we couldn't find just the right color) and recovering her dining room chairs.

So this past Saturday, while AH and his bro were off playing ultimate Frisbee, I was chatting it up with Nat in her living room trying to contain the massive energy my body wanted to let out (courtesy of our rarely seen sun). I couldn't stop myself from looking around her house and thinking of ways I could burn my hyperactivity off to her benefit.

How I contained my excitement I'll never know when she showed me a project that had been put on the wayside; decorating her youngest child's room. After looking at the paint she had bought, the chic wall plaques that spell out his name and the cute chocolate brown comforter I knew I HAD to do something. I looked around the bedroom and said, "You know it would only take about 90 minutes to paint this room. I'd be happy to help you. . ." She looked at me strangely and I got the hint that this was not in her plans for the day. Oh well, I would recover.

After the boys brought home pizza for dinner Nat surprised me by asking her hubby what the plan was for the rest of evening and how long it would take. Much to my delight my enthusiasm for painting had rubbed off on her and so we got to work. We cleared out the room and got the painting gear while the men did some computer projects and kept the kids in check. It actually took about 2 hours to paint but the room looks awesome! Nat is going to do another coat this week and then accessorize.

Thanks Nat for always letting me bully you into projects! You're a good sport :-)

Christmas Break

A few weeks prior to Christmas you could hear me complaining about the lack of snow fall in our mountains, or more importantly, at the cabin. I love our post Christmas trip to the cabin where we get to frolic in the snow, warm ourselves by the wood stove and enjoy the beauty of a landscape that is pristine white and peaceful.

I was starting to panic about the trip being canceled due to a lack of snow; whatever was I thinking? When the snow started falling at home I wad so excited, but then it didn't stop, nor did it melt. Then the issue became a matter of being able to drive to the cabin.

Well we made it and had a wonderful time. I was a bit off as I had been sick just after Christmas (AH had to do the grocery shopping with BOTH tykes in tow) and was not feeling well most of the week we were there. As a result I don't have nearly the images nor the quality I would like but I just didn't have the energy to do it all (or right).

Here are the images (warning there are a truckload) of what we did that week:

Now THAT is a lot of snow!








Trying to clear some snow weight off the roof.


Everyone got involved.




The back of the cabin (lake side).






Interior top floor.


A view from the top window.


Looking down on the living room.


The view from a bedroom window.


Snow fun!




























The temp the day we left. Toasty!

Major Flooding in Our Area

Here are some images that show the devistation the flooding caused to the roads and homes in our area. This is about a mile from our house.